Striker Valley RR (WI&I Subsidiary)
Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 7:20 pm
Formed in late 2005, the SKVR is a subsidiary of the Western Illinois & Iowa railroad. The SKVR was formed as the operator of 60+ miles of former Baltimore & Ohio trackage extending from North Bend, OH, to Crawford, IN. The line was, at one time, the B&O's (fictional) second route to Indianapolis. Nearly all the towns along the route had some kind of industry, giving the secondary line reason to survive. The railroads name comes from the river valley that the line runs through for several miles on the east side of Belden Hill. The line was operated by CSX until December 31, 2005, with the SKVR officially beginning operations on 1/1/06. The SKVR name is only used on paper, as all dispatching, maintenance, and locomotives are WI&I owned. The WI&I retained the DTC block system that was in place after the sale from CSX. B&O CPL signals dominate the line. Dispatching duties are covered by the Southern Division dispatcher from milepost KE 18.3 (west end of operable track) in Crawford and KE 81.8 at West Valley. East of KE 81.8, the line is dispatched by CSX. Track speed over most of the line is 25 mph, with some sections of 10 and 15 mph.
WI&I control begins at the west end of Valley 4 miles west of North Bend. Valley has two 7,000+ foot sidings on either side of the main that are used for interchange between the SKVR and CSX. 63 miles west of Valley is Crawford, where the WI&I bases their road crews and locals. West of Crawford, the line is in place but currently out of service for roughly 10 miles before CSX ownerships begins again. The west end of the former Crawford Subdivision still sees local service from CSX a few times a week. A major washout about 3 miles west of Crawford took the line out of service in 1999, and a few months a small wooden bridge burned, further putting the future of end-to-end operation in jeopardy. CSX mulled selling the line for several years until the WI&I came forth with the winning bid.
At the startup, the WI&I assigned 14 GP38-2's to the SKVR. Being a remote operation, the WI&I saw it best to upgrade the existing enginehouse in Crawford to be able to handle maintaining the engines based here. After a few months of operation, it became clear that the online traffic warranted bigger power. At the time, the WI&I was power short and looking to acquire some secondhand EMD's. In July of 2006, the WI&I purchased 24 former Wisconsin Central SD45's from Canadian National and upon reaching the WI&I's main locomotive shops in St. Louis for activation, eight of the SD45's were lettered for the SKVR. Minimal patching was applied, and the engines retained their Wisconsin Central road numbers. The number of GP38-2's assigned to the SKVR was reduced from 14 to 6, leaving the SKVR with the same number of engines, but more horsepower for the two road trains that were regularly running heavy. By 2008, due to numbering conflicts in the roster, the WI&I rounded up all 24 former WC SD45's and took them to St. Louis for repainting and renumbering. The eight units assigned to the SKVR were replaced with eight SD40-2's during their three week absence. The disappearance of the WC paint was bittersweet when the eight SD45's returned in fresh WI&I red.
With more than 20 online customers, traffic levels have consistently been high since the startup. The road trains (524 and 525) routinely run with 80-100 cars. The eastbound 524 originates daily in the morning early in Crawford and goes east to Valley, working the small yard at Belden along the way. Once at Valley, the crew will pull their train into the north siding at Valley, cut away, take their power west to the office at Muldron and tie down for the day before going to the crew hotel. The westbound 525 also runs daily, when the same crew from the previous days 524 comes on duty in the early afternoon to get on their power, return to Valley, pick up the train CSX left them in the south siding at Valley and take it west to Crawford, again working Belden on the westbound trip. One local is based in Crawford to handle industries on the west end of the line, and another local is based in Belden to handle the east end. Both jobs work Monday through Saturday. The Bunge grain elevator in Crawford also originates at least two grain trains a month that are interchanged to CSX and taken to the east coast for export.
Below is the roster of units assigned to the SKVR. All units are sublettered for the SKVR by small markings under the road numbers.
WI&I EMD GP38-2 4527
WI&I EMD GP38-2 4531
WI&I EMD GP38-2 4540
WI&I EMD GP38-2 4545
WI&I EMD GP38-2 4554
WI&I EMD GP38-2 4555
WI&I EMD GP38-2 4562
WI&I EMD SD40-2 3596
WI&I EMD SD40-2 3618
WI&I EMD SD45 7570
WI&I EMD SD45 7571
WI&I EMD SD45 7572
WI&I EMD SD45 7573
WI&I EMD SD45 7574
WI&I EMD SD45 7575
WI&I EMD SD45 7576
WI&I EMD SD45 7577
The road freights typically run with three of the SD45's for power. The power is rotated so that all of the SD45's are used multiple times during the week. Three GP38-2's are kept in Crawford and the other three in Belden. The 38's are also rotated once a month for servicing in Crawford. Occasionally, CSX power will be borrowed for the road trains if problems arise with any of the SD45's.
Below is a list of online customers, their location, and what they ship/receive in alphabetical order.
American Materials - Groveland - Inbound loads of scrap metal and steel.
Bunge North America - Crawford - Outbound loads of grain. Usually two 65 car trains per month.
Capitol Chemical - Outbound loads of refined oil.
FDE Manufacturing - Crawford - Inbound loads of raw materials.
General Electric Appliance Manufacturing - Crawford - Outbound loads of finished products.
General Motors - Crawford - Outbound loads of GM engine blocks.
Indiana Farmers Co-Op - Groveland - Inbound loads of animal feed, outbound loads of soybeans during harvest.
J&M Packing - Belden - Inbound loads of finished products for distribution.
Keller Refining - Belden - Outbound loads of LPG.
LaFarge North America - Belden - Inbound loads of chemicals and aggregate, outbound loads of cement.
Meade Paper - Crawford - Inbound loads of lumber and chemicals.
Menards Distribution - Roderfield - Inbound loads of products for distribution.
Oldcastle Precast - Vicksburg - Inbound loads of plastic pellets.
Poet Biorefining - Parkertown - Outbound loads of ethanol.
Proctor & Gamble - Roderfield - Inbound loads of plastic pellets and chemicals, outbound loads of finished products.
Rengro Agriculture - Vicksburg - Inbound loads of fertilizer.
Silgan Plastics - Crawford - Inbound loads of plastic pellets.
Steel Dynamics Inc. - Belden - Inbound loads of scrap and chemicals, outbound loads of rolled steel.
Striker Farmers Elevator - Striker - Inbound loads of fertilizer, outbound loads of grain in 15 car blocks.
Westpoint Construction - Groveland - Inbound loads of raw materials.
Worthington Steel - Belden - Outbound loads of coated steel.
WI&I control begins at the west end of Valley 4 miles west of North Bend. Valley has two 7,000+ foot sidings on either side of the main that are used for interchange between the SKVR and CSX. 63 miles west of Valley is Crawford, where the WI&I bases their road crews and locals. West of Crawford, the line is in place but currently out of service for roughly 10 miles before CSX ownerships begins again. The west end of the former Crawford Subdivision still sees local service from CSX a few times a week. A major washout about 3 miles west of Crawford took the line out of service in 1999, and a few months a small wooden bridge burned, further putting the future of end-to-end operation in jeopardy. CSX mulled selling the line for several years until the WI&I came forth with the winning bid.
At the startup, the WI&I assigned 14 GP38-2's to the SKVR. Being a remote operation, the WI&I saw it best to upgrade the existing enginehouse in Crawford to be able to handle maintaining the engines based here. After a few months of operation, it became clear that the online traffic warranted bigger power. At the time, the WI&I was power short and looking to acquire some secondhand EMD's. In July of 2006, the WI&I purchased 24 former Wisconsin Central SD45's from Canadian National and upon reaching the WI&I's main locomotive shops in St. Louis for activation, eight of the SD45's were lettered for the SKVR. Minimal patching was applied, and the engines retained their Wisconsin Central road numbers. The number of GP38-2's assigned to the SKVR was reduced from 14 to 6, leaving the SKVR with the same number of engines, but more horsepower for the two road trains that were regularly running heavy. By 2008, due to numbering conflicts in the roster, the WI&I rounded up all 24 former WC SD45's and took them to St. Louis for repainting and renumbering. The eight units assigned to the SKVR were replaced with eight SD40-2's during their three week absence. The disappearance of the WC paint was bittersweet when the eight SD45's returned in fresh WI&I red.
With more than 20 online customers, traffic levels have consistently been high since the startup. The road trains (524 and 525) routinely run with 80-100 cars. The eastbound 524 originates daily in the morning early in Crawford and goes east to Valley, working the small yard at Belden along the way. Once at Valley, the crew will pull their train into the north siding at Valley, cut away, take their power west to the office at Muldron and tie down for the day before going to the crew hotel. The westbound 525 also runs daily, when the same crew from the previous days 524 comes on duty in the early afternoon to get on their power, return to Valley, pick up the train CSX left them in the south siding at Valley and take it west to Crawford, again working Belden on the westbound trip. One local is based in Crawford to handle industries on the west end of the line, and another local is based in Belden to handle the east end. Both jobs work Monday through Saturday. The Bunge grain elevator in Crawford also originates at least two grain trains a month that are interchanged to CSX and taken to the east coast for export.
Below is the roster of units assigned to the SKVR. All units are sublettered for the SKVR by small markings under the road numbers.
WI&I EMD GP38-2 4527
WI&I EMD GP38-2 4531
WI&I EMD GP38-2 4540
WI&I EMD GP38-2 4545
WI&I EMD GP38-2 4554
WI&I EMD GP38-2 4555
WI&I EMD GP38-2 4562
WI&I EMD SD40-2 3596
WI&I EMD SD40-2 3618
WI&I EMD SD45 7570
WI&I EMD SD45 7571
WI&I EMD SD45 7572
WI&I EMD SD45 7573
WI&I EMD SD45 7574
WI&I EMD SD45 7575
WI&I EMD SD45 7576
WI&I EMD SD45 7577
The road freights typically run with three of the SD45's for power. The power is rotated so that all of the SD45's are used multiple times during the week. Three GP38-2's are kept in Crawford and the other three in Belden. The 38's are also rotated once a month for servicing in Crawford. Occasionally, CSX power will be borrowed for the road trains if problems arise with any of the SD45's.
Below is a list of online customers, their location, and what they ship/receive in alphabetical order.
American Materials - Groveland - Inbound loads of scrap metal and steel.
Bunge North America - Crawford - Outbound loads of grain. Usually two 65 car trains per month.
Capitol Chemical - Outbound loads of refined oil.
FDE Manufacturing - Crawford - Inbound loads of raw materials.
General Electric Appliance Manufacturing - Crawford - Outbound loads of finished products.
General Motors - Crawford - Outbound loads of GM engine blocks.
Indiana Farmers Co-Op - Groveland - Inbound loads of animal feed, outbound loads of soybeans during harvest.
J&M Packing - Belden - Inbound loads of finished products for distribution.
Keller Refining - Belden - Outbound loads of LPG.
LaFarge North America - Belden - Inbound loads of chemicals and aggregate, outbound loads of cement.
Meade Paper - Crawford - Inbound loads of lumber and chemicals.
Menards Distribution - Roderfield - Inbound loads of products for distribution.
Oldcastle Precast - Vicksburg - Inbound loads of plastic pellets.
Poet Biorefining - Parkertown - Outbound loads of ethanol.
Proctor & Gamble - Roderfield - Inbound loads of plastic pellets and chemicals, outbound loads of finished products.
Rengro Agriculture - Vicksburg - Inbound loads of fertilizer.
Silgan Plastics - Crawford - Inbound loads of plastic pellets.
Steel Dynamics Inc. - Belden - Inbound loads of scrap and chemicals, outbound loads of rolled steel.
Striker Farmers Elevator - Striker - Inbound loads of fertilizer, outbound loads of grain in 15 car blocks.
Westpoint Construction - Groveland - Inbound loads of raw materials.
Worthington Steel - Belden - Outbound loads of coated steel.